Searching for ancient civilizations is a tough task and finding them in unlikely places is like finding a needle in a haystack.

The combined effort of scientists, archaeologists, and economists used lead-polluted ice from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP). This is to estimate, antiquate, and evaluate European lead diffusions that were sandwiched in Greenland ice from 1100 BC to AD 800. The discovery offers a fresh understanding for chroniclers regarding the way European civilizations along with their austerity prospered throughout the years.

“We found that lead pollution in Greenland very closely tracked known plagues, wars, social unrest and imperial expansions during European antiquity,” said lead author Prof. Joe McConnell.

E arlier research was conducted during the middle of 1990. It inspected the levels of lead contained in the Greenland ice using just 18 calculations from 1100 BC to AD 800. The recent study endows a more comprehensive report that enshrines 21,000 accurate lead and other chemical calculations. It will also cultivate an exactly dated and constant record for the equal 1900-year course.

McConnell along with his team made use of Ice cores. A powerful drill pierced a sheet of Greenland ice producing long ice cylinders. The specimen administers a vertical timetable of historical climates deposited in the ice sheets. The Ice cores can supply a year record of temperature, rainfall, atmospheric composition, volcanic movement and wind configurations.

During the domination of the ancient Roman and Greek empires all over Europe, lead mining was established. It was melted down for making water pipes and used to shield ships. That same era, emissions got stuck in the Greenland ice sheets coming from the clouds brought up by the wind brought down to Earth either by rain or snow.